ToorCamp Implantation Station Q&A

This post is for the people at ToorCamp 2012 that received RFID implants at the Implantation Station. Below are links and information cobbled together based on questions asked of me in person and in the ToorCamp Google Group post;

Preparation – Be well hydrated and healthy; i.e. not sick. Iodine will be used to cleanse the implant location and 91% isopropyl alcohol will be used to clean the glass tags before implantation. Nitrile gloves (non-latex) will be available.

Implant location – I would highly recommend the webbed area between the thumb and index finger; http://amal.net/?p=516

Cancer? – Not likely… no human has shown any sign of cancerous growth since VeriChip started implanting people in 2004. More information here regarding my thoughts on the RFID cancer scare.

Removal/Replacement – The EM4102 does not have an anti-migration coating on it and is therefore relatively easy to remove. For more info, click here; http://amal.net/?p=3540

UPDATE 1! – What’s that? You didn’t have a chance to get implanted at ToorCamp? Now you can buy your own kit! Complete DIY implantation kits are now for sale at Dangerous Things!

2 Responses to “ToorCamp Implantation Station Q&A”

I’ve been looking to do something like this for a while, but never actually got around to it. I saw your interview on Hak5 and it left me with a couple questions: Do you ever have problems going through metal detectors/body scanners at airports or other places with similar security requirements? Since you opted for the non-coated implants, have you ever noticed any migration in the chips from the original location? And how durable are these things? I read your removal/replacement post and you had said the forceps would shatter it; what happens if you catch your hand in a car door or something?

Anywho, I applaud what you’re doing and can’t wait to try and implement it myself.

Nope, no probs with metal detectors… the amount of copper in the tag’s antenna is so small not even a hand-wand detector was able to pick it up when run directly over them.

As for migration, because the tag is located in the fascia between the dermis layer and deeper tissues, the tag is encapsulated quickly by the body and held in place. The coating is more for deep muscle implants like the VeriChip or pet and livestock implants where the vet/farmer is not being precise… just jabbing it in and moving on to the next animal.

Durability is a concern, as with anything made of glass. This is one of the reasons I picked the area between the thumb and index finger in my hand. I’ve sustained a lot of blunt force impacts to that area in my hand since 2005, and both implants have held up well. However, if you place one on a hard surface like your desk, it doesn’t take much to crack it with another hard object. Glass has tension, and if you put too much undistributed pressure in one location, it breaks easily. Forceps would introduce scissor-like pressure on only the two points of contact where forceps meet glass, and it would easily break. Being in the body though, the flesh does a really good job of distributing pressure around the tag… and moving out of the way too. That’s why it’s important not to place the implant anywhere near bone, where it could be pinched between the hard bone and some external force or pressure.

These are all great questions! Could I get you to re-post your queries on https://store.amal.net/?forum=diy-implantation where I will re-answer them? Posting does require registration, so you will have to click My Account and register first.